South Arabian spears

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Interesting as I was looking at decorative Omani lozenges and have earmarked a Talismanic devil style shape( I will place later) which may be related on Omani silver jewelery… Note the faint 5 dots inside the central rectangle likely to be hand of Fatima geometry thus for protection.

[Jim McDougall]

The more I read this thread, the more intrigued I am by the topic of the original post, and the subject of Arab spears. I have to admit I have never really focused on these particular weapons, nor fully realized how important they were in Arabia. According to the traveler T. Burckhardt in the 1830s, '..the most common weapon of the Arabs were their lances' (Elgood, 1994, p.66). I had always had the impression the sword was the key weapon they used.

In the original post, Colin was asking about the term and possible origin with which to classify the two shafted weapons he has, which has revealed the obvious difficulty in accurately applying same to these to universal satisfaction.

It seems that while there are terms used which would denote a broad head (shalfa) or narrow head (harba), (Elgood, p.67) these descriptive terms are far from exclusively used in different regions and by various tribes etc. While some refer to the point/head as 'kentad' and the spike inserting it into the shaft as harbe, in Syria the point is termed the harbe.
Then it is noted (p.66) that the lance in North Arabia in the 19th c. is known as 'shalfa' or 'rumh'.

As might be expected, with the diversity of the tribes of the Bedouin over the considerable distances of the regions they occupy, there is apparently a notable disparity in the use of terms used for the shafted weapons in use.
This is of course complicated by their size (length) and how they are used (as javelin, spear or lance).

It does not seem that such terms documented on such weapons in one region would necessarily cover those used in local parlance of other tribes or inhabitants of other regions in the Arab world. Writers and travelers trying to document the names of these weapons were of course subject to the transliteration issues from information they were given.

Noting the seemingly often colloquial use of descriptive terms for the weapons, which were of utmost importance to the Arab, I was reading some of the colorful and fascinating terms used toward rifles for example.
It seems often the reference was directed toward the size or magazine capacity, as with the Winchester repeating rifle, 'the mother of 17'. The short British rifle was apparently often termed 'sharfa'. While this term was compellingly close to the term 'shalfa' (one form of lance) it is obviously not the same word, and from what I found meant loosely 'baby girl' probably referring to the smaller (carbine?) size.

The point is that it would seem there are not only many terms and names for these weapons which are often, if not typically, applied in varying degree of descriptive reference, some almost fanciful. In many cases even the type of wood (rattan etc.) might be applied to the name of the particular weapon.

This is all part of the exciting fascination of these weapons, among quite honestly, the entire culture of Arabia and the Arab world, and why our sincere study of these people is given such dimension and dynamics through their weaponry.

Naturally I welcome the insight of others toward the observations I have noted here from the resources I have cited, as learning is my objective.

Further, I am really fascinated by the talismanic properties described in the previous posts and look forward to developing more on them as well.

[kahnjar1]

Nice lot of pics on the thread now, but description of the shaft of ARABIAN spears states the shaft is (usually) bamboo. Many of those shown appear to to be of some other wood (not that it means they are not Arabian)....just an observation.
Stu

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Nice lot of pics on the thread now, but description of the shaft of ARABIAN spears states the shaft is (usually) bamboo. Many of those shown appear to to be of some other wood (not that it means they are not Arabian)....just an observation.
Stu

Good observation, and it does seem that virtually all these Arabian shafted weapons do seem to have used various types of bamboo, reed and cane in their shafts. Most of the entries I read in Elgood noted that these woods were used from early times and brought in from various places.

The shafts on some of these appear to be smooth and not ribbed like I always think of bamboo, but it seems botanically (NOT my area by far) there are male and female plants.

In the entries that comment on the scarcity of these lances, spears and javelins it does seem that one of the factors that may contribute to this is that the shafts have not survived. Possibly numbers of these heads and butt items have been rehafted with hard woods of other kinds. Elgood does note one type of javelin (mizrak) from the Hijaz with a shaft of 'hard, pliant wood' which was of unknown identity.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

If I can just add what I have about the Talisman effects but not to forget the trade in the region bringing bamboo and other timber across from India and Africa as well as locally grown bamboo etc
The lozenge shape is apparent in many metal objects and similar to the spear butt decoration . I illustrate a rather long winded phrase to describe this object as an Islamic Architectural Talisman Nail... used to ward off evil spirits from newly built houses by being hammered into the area above the main door. The lozenge even appears with similar dots which may in the 3 or 5 dot configuration...

I have a picture somewhere of another devil style decorative object of similar shape which I will add as this thread develops. I have some battle scenes where the spear plays an important role and will add later.

See Below ~ Islamic Architectural Talisman Nail...Next to project spear end.

[colin henshaw]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Interesting as I was looking at decorative Omani lozenges and have earmarked a Talismanic devil style shape( I will place later) which may be related on Omani silver jewelery… Note the faint 5 dots inside the central rectangle likely to be hand of Fatima geometry thus for protection.

H'mm interesting. It seems the Hand of Fatima symbol has been associated with weapons since ancient times. E A Wallis Budge in his book "Amulets and Superstitions" 1930, makes mention of the amulet being attached to weapons (including spears) to confer power and strength to both the weapon and user.

Extracts from the book attached.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Concerning battles there is some evidence regarding arab participation with spears and I have selected one in particular as interesting in this regard~

See below; In 1529, Imam Ahmad's Adal troops defeated a larger Ethiopian contingent at the Battle of Shimbra Kure. The victory came at a heavy cost but it solidified the Adal forces' morale, providing proof that they could stand up to the sizable Ethiopian army.
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shimbra_Kure

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

This thread only just sticks its toe into the mystical and very current world of magic symbols across the Arabian regions for which I recommend the book below . Morocco probably more than any other country in Arabia lives with its traditional signs and magical traditions today and the passed down secret and revered details are part of the rich history of its people. It cleverly combines the Jewish close traditions and Islamic religious Saints structure in such a way that it seems to exist alongside all the other participants in a seamless and continuous way... Read this book for an insight into how this all works and the amazing disclosures of the structure affecting artifacts and antiques of all types...

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

On the subject of the strange geometrical shaped design on the Spear I was looking through Omani Silver and found the rectangle similar to it on jewelery from the Sharqiyyah... (Eastern Oman) which represents a devil or evil spirit worn to ward that off from the wearer. It looks quite similar to the shape sometimes used for the Evil Eye which may have a central cross which is there to scatter any evil spirit in The Four Directions... or dots often in a 5 geometry configuration which you can also see at the Khanjar a few posts back.

The item is top right below..

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

If I can throw more light on the magical or Talisman effect of this very extensive sign across the Islamic stratum and up the silk road toward the Frontiers of China.

As expected these signs appear on textiles and carpets as well as tribal Jewelery and even on door supports on African/Omani hand carved doors. It was interesting that it occurs on weapons as well.

Below a few textile and rug examples from Morocco and Afghanistan.

1. On the picture with the Hand. Follow the top of the thumb right to the line of panels . There is an exact demon rectangle as in the above post Jewelery item. While the Jewelery is Omani this textile is Moroccan. It has a cross in the centre ..see note 3 below.
2. a six inch long design on an Afghan tent wall hanging. Identical to the jewelery and 1 above.
3. Kilim textile with repeat pattern evil eye motifs . Sometimes the shape includes a cross which in Morocco is a magic sign to disperse evil in the 4 directions. picture 1. refers above.

[Jim McDougall]

Most interesting entry of the numeric five and the Hand of Fatima, which is an apotropaic defense against the evil eye. Clearly there are numerous devices and motif on weaponry which corresponds to folk religion and superstition as Colin has noted on the butt of one of the spears in the OP.

As Ibrahiim has explained, the lozenge shape on the spear butt has certain possible association with similar geometric shapes and dots in various number on many items of material culture in Arab regions. I believe the reference to the talismanic nail with the lozenge pattern had to do with placing this above the door of new home to ward off evil spirits.

With the butt of a spear, a similar application may well be that as the spear is 'planted' in the ground outside the tent with the same purpose.

Having noted the pertinence of the look into talismanic decoration found on some examples of spears, it does seem that amulet devices found on these an other weapons provides a good topic that may be pursued in depth on its own thread.

Returning to spears, a reference in "Armies of the Caliphs"
(Hugh Kennedy, 2001, p.175) says that "...we are told of spears which were 13 and 14 cubits long (6 to 7 m) but these were unusually long ones, chosen to hold banners aloft). This was the case in 7th c. but of course it is hard to say how the tradition held in various circumstances in more recent times.


It seems like one of the notable characterizations of Arab spears was their unusual length. In the same reference by Kennedy, he notes that in use of the spear there were side to side slashes, not just the thrust.